Crime & Safety

Three Amity Fire Departments Respond to Woodbridge Fire Call

Family got out of house safely.

 

A Woodbridge family has tens of thousands of dollars in repairs to their home after water got into their circuit breaker box Sunday night.

The Woodbridge Volunteer Fire Department was called to 65 Ansonia Road for an activated fire alarm at 10:20 p.m.

The basement was filled with smoke and the circuit breaker box was arcing making it dangerous for the firefighters to extinguish.

According to Fire Marshal Michael Cavanagh, the firefighters could not put water on a live electrical fire. Foam was used to knock down the fire on the wood surrounding the circuit breaker box, but then they had to wait for UI to come and de-energize the house (turn off the power from the street).

Bethany and Orange Volunteer Firefighters were called to provide mutual aid around 10:43 p.m. stating it was a "Large structure fire."

Bethany stood by and covered the town for any other emergency calls that might come in and Orange's Ladder 37, engine 33 and Rescue 1 responded to Ansonia Road.

After listening to calls for the past several years, this one sounded serious.
At 11 p.m. Woodbridge requested Orange's Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) — specially trained firefighters who go into a structure fire to rescue other firefighters if needed. Orange had six RIT firefighters on scene ready to go.

At 11:02 a Thermal Imaging Camera was requested "immediately."

Engine 33 was sent over to Beecher Road to a fire hydrant after a passing car ran over an uncharged Woodbridge fire hose and broke the coupling.

According to Orange Asst. Fire Chief Keith Anderson, Orange laid out a fire hose from the hydrant on Beecher to the home on Ansonia Road to complete the hose line, but it was never used.

Rescue One and Ladder 37 were sent to the Woodbridge Firehouse to stand by after it was determined that the situation was not as bad as they initially thought.

Woodbridge Fire Chief Sean Rowland said the fire was contained to the basement and never breached the first floor. "They have a lot of smoke damage and they won't be back in their home by Christmas, but everyone got out of the house safely," he said.

Rowland said he estimates the total damage to the ranch style home to be between $50,000 - $60,000.

Asst. Fire Chief Chris Parietti said the family was lucky because the entire house could have gone up.

Cavanagh said the family will have to replace their wiring as it was all ruined in the fire at the Circuit Box.

At 11:52 p.m. the three Orange fire trucks were released to return to their home stations and at 11:55 p.m. the firefighters standing by in trucks at Station 1 and Station 2 were cleared to go home.

The remaining Orange fire personnel, fire officers (chief, asst. chief, etc) left the scene at 12:19 a.m.


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